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The plea calls for the Hazleton man to spend 25 to 50 years in state prison.

Dedes said little in court besides "yes" and "no" when Hughes asked him questions about whether he understood the ramifications of his plea. He said nothing as deputy sheriffs led him away from court.

According to prosecutors, Dedes and Breon Judon, 20, beat and robbed Aaron Reznick, 29, in the early morning of Aug. 4, 2012, before leaving his battered, unconscious body in the middle of Carson Street, between Ninth and 10th streets, in Hazleton.

Reznick lived in the Hazle Township village of Ebervale. He worked as a senior chemist for the Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories at Sanofi Pasteur in Swiftwater.

Investigators said Dedes and Judon held Reznick at gunpoint and robbed him of his iPhone and then stripped him, stomped on him, beat him and put him in the trunk of his car.

"They drove around with the victim still locked in the trunk," Assistant District Attorney Dan Zola said in court while reading the factual basis for the plea.

Reznick eventually popped the trunk and got out of the car.

"Upon seeing this, they kicked and stomped on his head," Zola explained.

The defendants, Zola said, then drove away and left Reznick in the middle of the street. Reznick died Aug. 13, 2012, at Lehigh Valley Hospital from traumatic injuries.

Investigators said they later learned Dedes sold Reznick's phone in Hazleton for $60.

Zola said the suspects fled to Wilkes-Barre and then Dedes shot himself in the leg in an attempt to establish an alibi.

Hughes set Dedes' sentencing for 8:30 a.m. Oct. 9.

Judon is scheduled to stand trial on Sept. 23 in Luzerne County Court.

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2055

@cvbobkal

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